WestCoast Racing heads there with high expectations after a competitive weekend at Sachsenring that unfortunately didn't net the results the team was looking for. Fredrik Lestrup hopes for another competitive outing but knows the Nürburgring track poses different challenges for the BMW Z4 GT3. "We have the pace, both in the team and the car so I'm hopeful for the weekend. We are a bit unsure how this track will suit the car but it's much more competitive this year so if we can get the final adjustments right I believe we can score some good results. We have come a long way with developing the car but it's so incredibly tight in this field so just a few tenths can mean a lot of places up or down on the grid. We definitely aim for the up."
The team has driven two races in the Swedish GT championship and won both races. For Fredrik it has been a chance to warm up for the ADAC GT Masters and he is looking forward to coming back to Nürburgring. "It's a track I know very well and I have driven there a lot. I usually do good there and it's always special to be there and I know the track inside out. We have had a nice time back in Sweden racing with the car and it's been a nice warm up for this weekend. I'm happy it is time to race in GT Masters again, we must get it all together and score some good results this weekend," he finishes.
Nürburgring is also one of Martin Matzke's favourite tracks and he shares his team mates view on how the car will suit the track. "For me this has always been a good track I like a lot and I've hade many good races here. It's difficult to say how the track will suit our car. There are some sections where we will be very strong, for instance the medium fast corners and braking areas, but also some parts like the straights where we might struggle a bit. We will do our best and I think that if we can qualify and race well inside top 10 it will be very good for us."
The team was competitive at Sachsenring but didn't manage to bring the result. Matzke was fifth in the second race when a mistake a few laps from home forced him to retire. He hopes for a repeat of the competitive form the team showed last time. "Sachsenring was good but we were also very unlucky there and we didn't get the results we were hoping for. Unfortunately I also made a mistake in the last race but that's racing, it's so competitive here and you have to push and this can happen. The car is working well so hopefully we can make it work as well at Nürburgring. I expect a tough weekend but we will do our best to bring home points from both races."
The GT Masters weekend starts on Friday with two practice sessions followed by the two qualifying sessions. The first race is on Saturday with the second race on Sunday. Live timing and results can be found on the official ADAC GT Masters website http://www.adac-gt-masters.de/.
Source: Team